The Moon and the Star
by Ethereal Dreamer 394
Summary: Harry is used to running into strange situations but as he heads into his fifth year, before even reaching the Hogwarts castle, he encounters something new, could it be love?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.** **This story is dedicated to slayer of destiny, she gave me the courage and tools to begin writing, thank you so much!  
I have decided to age Luna up a year so she is in the same year as Harry, Ron and Hermione. Thanks for reading!**

The evening was setting in when Harry finally hopped off the train onto the bustling platform at Hogsmeade. Hermione, struggling to carry her idea of light reading, stepped off behind him with Ron following suit. Ron, muttered something indistinguishable though a mouthful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which must have contained a couple of vomit flavoured ones judging by the way his face contorted as he spoke.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said, looking bewildered.

"I said," Ron replied, swallowing the last of the jelly beans with great difficulty, "We'd better get to the carriages before they're all taken." At this the trio began to hurry down the platform, weaving in and out of a large group of first years.

Finally, they reached the carriages and they weren't surprised to see that Ron had been right; all of the carriages were full except one, there were spare seats in one carriage in which sat Neville Longbottom. Naturally, the trio hurried to join their classmate and the curious blonde girl sitting next to him, her face eagerly buried in a magazine.

"Hi guys," said Neville enthusiastically as Harry, Ron and Hermione approached him, waving and greeting him in return before climbing into the carriage before it set off for Hogwarts.

"Who's that?" Harry whispered to Hermione, pointing subtly in the blonde's direction a while after talk of their summer holidays had died down.

"I have no idea," Hermione eyed her curiously, tilting her head slightly. "Is her magazine upside down?"

"Yeah, it looks like it," replied Harry quietly, tilting his head, too. Strangely, the girl looked like she was not only able to read the text upside down but seemed enthralled by whatever it was she was reading.

"I can hear you, you know". The voice, smooth as butterbeer, came from behind the magazine. There was no accusation in the statement, only honesty, as if she thought it rude to accidentally eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Oh, sorry…" mumbled Harry, brushing his hand though his hair awkwardly.

"It's okay," The girl muttered back nonchalantly. "Don't mind me." From then on the ride was sent into an uncomfortable silence, only broken by the girl mumbling to herself.

The carriages finally passed through the magnificent gates housing the towering castle of Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but gaze at the beautiful architecture in front of him; he found himself in awe every year. The skyline behind the towers was a beautiful shade of blue, as if someone had spilled ink all over fresh, white parchment, the stars like sprinkled glitter. Harry had always thought this was the most wonderful thing he would ever see, that is until the strange girl sitting across from him lowered her magazine to view the castle too.

Never had Harry gazed upon such a divine person. Her hair, now shown to be over one shoulder, was curly in a natural but not messy way. It flowed over her body like caramel, reaching at least her naval. Her skin was like porcelain, smooth and creaseless, as though it had never had anger strike across it. And her eyes… Her silvery grey eyes were breath-taking. On anyone else they would be entirely ordinary but on her they had a glow that may have outshone the stars. This girl's delicate, ethereal charm well and truly put the castle to shame.

The raven haired teen pulled his eyes away from her just long enough to glance at Ron, Neville and Hermione. Not one of them seemed even half as intrigued by the fairy-like figure in the carriage with them.

How could this be? Harry thought to himself, trying his best not to look at her. How could they not notice her?


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Harry found himself gazing out of his dorm room window, deep in thought about the beautiful girl he'd met. He planned the scour every table in the great hall until he saw the golden-haired girl again, as she hadn't been at dinner the previous evening. The teen felt embarrassed for having such a strong need for someone he didn't know, he just couldn't help himself.

"What's the matter, mate?" He felt a clap in his back and turned to see Ron, looking rather concerned.

"Nothing," he lied. "Why?"

"You just seem a bit… I don't know, off?"

"I'm fine, honestly." He felt dreadful for lying to his best friend but what was he to say? He had feelings for a girl he had merely glanced at? No, he would keep this to himself.

The two walked to breakfast together, eager to see their new timetables.

As they reached the Great Hall, Harry flashed his eyes slowly around a couple of times until his eyes locked with hers. There she was, looking radiant as the night before, at the Ravenclaw table. She pulled her eyes away and, using her long curtain of hair to cover her face, she put her head down. This confused Harry for a moment but he shook it off.

"Come on then!" the teen heard from beside him; it was Ron, eagerly awaiting his breakfast. He reluctantly broke his gaze on her and began walking along the Gryffindor table until he found Hermione. As they sat down to eat Harry noticed the Ravenclaw girl had vanished.

"Oh, thank God!" Ron sighed after studying his timetable. "This year we have potions with the Ravenclaws instead of the Slytherins!" Harry grinned brightly; he wouldn't have to spend another horrid potions lesson with Malfoy. Ravenclaw, He thought. His last lesson of the day was potions; he would make it his mission to speak to her then.

Harry's lessons seemed to last forever that day. He was on edge in transfiguration, waiting for the bell to ring for his last lesson, potions. When the sound finally clanged through the school he shoved his books hastily in his bag and ran to the dungeon, never had he been excited to see the dingy classroom.

He sat down in his usual seat and watched as the rest of the seats filled up, Ron taking the seat next to him. There was one seat left directly in front of Harry when he realised the girl he was waiting for wasn't in the classroom yet.

"Where's Lovegood?" Snape asked as he sauntered into the room. It was only her surname he uttered but it was enough to make Harry beam.

"I'm here, Professor! Sorry I'm late." It was that voice again, her voice.

Harry turned to look at her. She glanced around, saw the one empty seat and sighed before approaching it and sitting down.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw!" Snape snarled. She sighed once more and began to take out her books.

When the lesson was in full swing Harry saw his opportunity and tapped the girl he only knew as Lovegood on the shoulder, accidentally bushing past her hair as he did. He couldn't help but notice how silky the curly tendrils were. She turned around to look at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hi," was all Harry could mutter.

"Hello," she said politely before starting to turn back around.

"I just wanted to say sorry again if I offended you yesterday." he said a little more confidently, causing her to turn back to face him.

"It's fine…" she said airily.

"Oh… Good," he said as he began cutting up his ingredients; he didn't know what else to do with his hands. "I'm Harry by the way; may I ask your…?"

"I know who you are," she interrupted. Then, after a few moments, she reluctantly said "Luna."

"Wow…" Harry mumbled dreamily, becoming caught in her silvery eyes. At this Luna whipped back around to face the front of the classroom; she didn't look at Harry for the rest of the lesson. He noticed that even as she stalked out of the room when the bell rang she still looked graceful, as if she was floating.

"That went well," Ron said. Harry had forgotten he was even there and when he saw the look on the teen's freckled face he realised Ron was being sarcastic. It hadn't gone well at all.


	3. Chapter 3

In the weeks following his first real chat with Luna, Harry's spirits lifted tremendously. He was ecstatic every time he saw her or even thought about her, the latter of which happened to be all the time. The girl he longed for didn't seem to return the affection but this didn't deter him in the slightest.

The teen swooned, to the amusement of Ron and Hermione, when he saw the Ravenclaw walking barefooted across the grounds on an unusually warm September afternoon. She was enchanting to Harry in everything she did.

Ron took his chance while his friend was staring at the blonde passing by and shoved Harry so hard on the back that he fell into her.

"Ronald!" Hermione said disapprovingly, the slightest hint of a suppressed smile on her lips.

"Just getting the ball rolling!" whispered the ginger haired teen as he got to his feet.

Harry sent a quite unpleasant one-fingered gesture Ron's way before getting to his feet.

"Do you need any help, Luna?" Harry asked, offering his hand to the dainty girl still on the floor.

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you," she replied before standing up in one swift movement and turning and walking away, humming to herself as she went.

"Nice one!" Harry said when the blonde girl was out of earshot, shoving Ron playfully.

"So what is it you like about her then?" Hermione asked as the three made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"She just very…" Harry thought carefully for the right word. "She's really interesting to me, mysterious even." he said after a moment.

"Really? It's just…" The bushy haired girl paused.

"What?" Harry sighed.

"I've only ever heard boys say negative things about her… All the guys in our year think she's barmy, I even head Dean use the word 'repulsive'." Hermione had a very curious look on her face, her eyes narrowed and her brows knit together.

Harry pondered this for a moment. "I like her, she's cool," he said after a while.  
_

The next time he saw Luna, Harry was thankfully alone. She was walking down the corridor at least ten paces ahead of him. He stayed just far enough behind so that he could see her without her getting suspicious. He already felt very protective over her.

The Ravenclaw was just about to round the corner when her books suddenly seemed to fly out of her hands and scatter all over the floor. Harry ran to the end of the corridor to help and when he got there he realised Cho was there looking very smug. He eyed the ebony-haired girl suspiciously.

"Was this you?" he asked Cho coolly as he knelt on the stone floor, helping pick up the books.

Cho nodded. "She's so weird!" she snorted, obviously expecting Harry to laugh too.

"That's really not funny," said Harry seriously. "It's just mean."

Cho's face changed dramatically within a few seconds from humoured to positively furious. Luna couldn't help but smile as her fellow Ravenclaw stalked off in a huff.

"Thanks…" the girl said with a slight blush in her cheeks as she got to her feet. But suddenly her face changed to an unreadable expression before she turned on her heel and strode away before Harry could say another word.  
_

The next time Harry saw her he was busy researching. He had noticed that this year the carriages had been pulled by strange creatures that looked like skeletal, leathery horse with large wings. He hadn't mentioned anything as nobody else seemed to have noticed them, besides he knew he couldn't really trust his mind at the minute with Voldemort trying to penetrate it.

He was sitting in the library, flicking through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for some answers when Luna strolled past airily, peeking over Harry's shoulder at the section he was reading on centaurs, the closest thing he could find to what he had seen.

"You won't find them in there," she whispered over his shoulder. At this the Gryffindor jumped and snapped his book shut.

"Find what?" he replied, surprised.

"The Thestrals." she replied, as though this was obvious but without a know-it-all tone.

Harry was confused to say the least. "The what?" he asked.

"Thestrals, they're what pulls the carriages, I know you saw them."

"Oh," said Harry. "Really?"

"Yep," the blonde replied, tucking a lock oh her hair behind her ear.

"Could you-?" Harry started. Before he could finish Luna had pulled a book out of her bag, laid it open on the table and pointed at it with her dainty index finger. He read intently, for once forgetting that Luna was there. At last he had found the answer, he had been looking in his spare time since he had seen the Thestrals, when he wasn't busy staring at the girl sitting next to him.

"They can only be seen by people who have witnessed death..." Harry pondered. "Then you..." he looked up at the other teen through his raven hair. "I'm so sorry, Luna."

"It's fine," she responded. Then her face saddened. "Actually... No, it's not fine." She said this without a hint of blame to Harry but as though she was thinking about the death she had seen. She sat for a moment with her head down, the same sober expression on her face.

Before Harry could help himself he had his hand up, carefully placing the same lock of hair from before back behind her ear; he rested his hand softly on her neck. She looked up at him, surprised but with a small smile.

"Harry?" came a female voice from behind them. Harry whipped his hand away from the girl's neck and in turn she snapped the book shut and stuffed it back in her bag before gliding out of the library.

Hermione sat down in the vacated seat, she too had a book in hand. "I have something I need to show you..."


	4. Chapter 4

"...And so, I think that Luna is at least half-veela!" Hermione finished with a air of satisfaction.

"Don't be silly, Hermione! You said it yourself, everyone avoids her, " Harry replied. "Besides, you can't just disregard my feelings for her like that!"

"That's not what I'm doing! It's just... Look at the evidence. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, she is beautiful - nobody is denying that." Hermione persisted.

"That's hardly evidence, other wizards and even muggles can have blonde hair and blue eyes, it doesn't mean they're Veela!"

"Okay then... Just be careful, Harry. I feel like she's fogging your judgement, being what she is..." the bushy haired girl said with genuine concern.

"I'm sure I can handle myself, but thank you for your concern." Harry retorted, rolling his eyes.

Hermione collected up her things and shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The next day was a Monday meaning that once again Harry got to spend some time with Luna. He hurried to his last lesson of the day and sat in his usual seat waiting for her to arrive. Unbeknownst to Harry the room was filling quickly with Ravenclaws and Gryffindors until there were only two seats vacated: Ron's, Luna's and his own.

"Luna sits there," Harry said hastily as Ron sat down in front of him.

"Not anymore she doesn't," replied Ron with a grin before turning away.

Harry was intending to prod the ginger head in front of him before he realised what Ron had done: the room was full and the only seat left for Luna was right next to him. Harry made a mental note to thank him later.

Luna walked into the doorway, gave a small, exasperated sigh and strode gracefully to Harry's side before sitting down.

"Hello," said Harry enthusiastically when the lesson got underway. "Sorry, could you pass me one of those frogs legs please?" he continued when she didn't reply. Luna slid the box towards him with one finger and continued cutting her own frog's legs.

"So what's your deal?" she asked him after a moment without looking away from her work.

"I don't understand," Harry replied, surprised.

"You were looking for information on thestrals, why?"

Harry had never had anyone ask him something so abruptly before, not afraid to pry but still so innocent. He loved how different she was from everyone else. After a moment thinking about this he realised he hadn't answered her question and said "It's just I've never seen them before but after Cedric..."

"Yeah, I understand," she replied, her blue eyes glittering. "It's difficult witnessing a death." Harry nodded, remembering the awful moment from the year before when Cedric Diggory had died before him at the hands of Voldemort.

"It was my mother." Luna said after a while.

"Excuse me?" spluttered Harry, accidentally slicing his finger.

"My mum, I saw her die." she said slowly. "I know you were wondering, you're just too polite to ask."

Harry had no idea what else to do other than try to hide his injured hand within his robes. After a couple more moments he said "You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to..."

"I want to... If that's okay." Luna said, gently taking Harry's hand from his robes and healing it quickly with her wand. "I wouldn't like to bring back any bad memories or emotions for you but I feel like you'd understand." She looked up at him, her beautiful face tragically saddened once more. Harry got the feeling she hadn't really had anybody to talk to about her mother so Harry nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Well," she began."Mum and dad had these friends, another couple, Evelyn and Rufus. Evelyn was like an aunt to me, a second mother even. She'd known my mother since they themselves were here at Hogwarts. My mother and Evelyn were very close and would usually spend a lot of time together without the company of dad and Rufus, who'd go hippogriff-watching as often as they could. On the odd occasion they were, all four of them, together Rufus would show a strange interest in mum, he tried to hide it but wasn't very successful, even I noticed it. Mum had always got more attention from guys, even when she was in school and because of this Evelyn was always jealous." She paused for a moment to gauge Harry's expression, saw that he was listening intently and continued. "I saw Evelyn murder my mother."

Nobody had ever confided in him in such a way before, Harry was very shocked but still slightly confused, . After seeing Harry was not completely following Luna continued. "Evelyn was under the impression that mum and Rufus were having an affair but I know they weren't, she drove herself mad thinking about it and one day she just snapped," she shrugged. "She killed Rufus and then came for mum. She didn't know I had came downstairs when I heard the shouting. I got into the room just as Curse hit my mothers chest." She looked at Harry again and said "I was nine."

"I'm so sorry," was all Harry could say. Luna nodded.

"What Evelyn didn't know was Rufus couldn't help but be lured in, my mum had kept something from her and everyone else other than me and dad. She was killed for not being able to control who she was..." she said as she looked Harry directly in the eyes. "I can trust you, can't I Harry?"

Harry felt the need to say something but all he could do was nod, it was the most honest reply he could give.

Luna smiled at him sadly and took a deep breath before getting as close to Harry's ear as she could without touching it. Harry's heart began to beat faster and harder until he was sure she could hear it.

"My mother..." Luna whispered. "She was a Veela."


	5. Chapter 5

Harry had been thinking for days about what he'd heard. Hermione was right, Luna was half Veela. But how was he so affected by her when nobody else was?

Luna had tried to approach Harry couple of times but he was now avoiding her, he couldn't bear that all of his feelings may have been involuntary. He didn't know how to react around her anymore, he still felt his stomach fill with butterflies every time he caught a glimpse but he felt foolish for falling for her.

Even though Harry was angry and hurt that Luna hadn't told him before he still couldn't reveal her secret. She had asked if she could trust him and he'd said yes, no matter what Luna had done he could not break that trust so he kept it to himself.

"What's going on with you, mate?" said Ron after a few days of Harry clearly acting differently.

"Nothing, why?" Harry knew what Ron was getting at but was determined to act like noting had happened.

"You're just moping, you haven't mentioned Luna in a few days now. She used to be all you'd talked about."

"Everything's fine." Harry was sick of saying these two same words by now.

"Okay, but you can talk to me if you need to," said Ron blushing.

"Erm... Thanks." Harry responded as he scratched his head beneath his raven hair. Ron was so embarrassed he could only manage an awkward smile and a nod.

Luna made many more attempts in the following weeks but Harry kept true to himself and denied himself the pleasure of seeing her beautiful face. Hermione had told him how beautiful Luna was but did he, himself see her more stunningly than anyone else? He wondered how he'd see her if he were not under her influence.

At their next potions lesson together Harry had made Ron sit next to him in his usual seat. This didn't help much as Luna still sat in front of him and kept trying to get his attention.

"Please Harry, I'm sorry, just let me explain..." she had said to him after many attempts to catch his eye.

"I think you've explained well enough," was all Harry could say in reply as he tried to concentrate on that day's concoction.

"But-" Luna started before Ron cut in and said "I think you've said enough, Luna," rather more harshly than Harry thought he meant to.

"Harry..." she said as Harry's emerald eyes locked with her glossy blue ones. No Matter how hard he tried he couldn't pull his eyes away from her until Ron spoke again.

"Harry?" said Ron, waving his hand in front of Harry's face. Harry closed his eyes tight for a couple of seconds before opening them revealing his rage-filled gaze.

"How dare you do that? Stop doing that!" he bellowed before he realised where he was.

"I don't care what's going on back there, Potter but that's 10 points from Gryffindor for shouting in my classroom." said Snape.

"Thanks," spat Harry at Luna before turning back to his cauldron. At this Luna finally turned away from Harry and carried on with her own potion.

After a while of dodging Luna's further advances he was beginning think he was losing control so, in his haste, he decided enough was enough and purposefully spoke out of turn in Umbridge's classes to get more detentions than ever.

After a particularly horrid Saturday morning cutting his own skin open to appease Umbridge, Harry began to make his way down to see Hagrid. Unfortunately it seemed that Luna had caught onto his detention plan and was waiting for him.

"Harry..." she said, walking beside him. Harry could feel the need for her wash over him the instant she was in view and it took him a lot of effort not to reply.

"Harry please, I need to explain... Please don't ignore me, Harry." She sounded so dissapointed and upset that Harry almost gave in but instead he walked faster. Luna was struggling to keep up, her walk was still so dainty as she jogged down the corridor. There was only one thing Harry could think to do to get away; he'd visit Hagrid another time. He turned on his heel and headed back towards the Gryffindor common room.

Luna followed Harry all the way back to the portrait of the Fat Lady, pleading for him to listen; only then did she stop long enough to realise where Harry was going. Harry uttered the password and climbed into the common room, only when the portrait was swinging back into place did he see a small tear leave Luna's shining blue eye.


	6. Chapter 6

As Harry turned to head for his usual seat by the fire he found it was occupied.

"Harry James Potter..." was all Hermione could say to him.

"So I'm in a full-name kind of trouble, am I?"

"You're a teaspoon, Harry. An absolute teaspoon!" she replied

"Excuse me?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You have the emotional range of a rusty, old teaspoon!" she said scaldingly.

"What does that even mean?" Harry was surpressing a laugh at this point.

"It's not funny, she's trying to talk to you, you can't just ignore a girl like that! I know from experience, we take it very personally."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind me!" she snapped.

"Okay! Keep your voice down! She's told me something big and now I just can't see her the same way." Harry said.

"So she's trusted you so much that she told you something big, something huge enough to change your opinion of her this much?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I guess..." he replied thoughtfully.

"And you, being the idiot you are, took that trust and basically spat on it." This time it wasn't a question.

"Oh..." Harry's face dropped. "Oh no, what the hell have I done?"

"You're a brave guy, Harry," she said. "But you're such a bloody pansy!"

"I just didn't realise... I didn't mean to..." Before Hermione could say another word Harry had stood up and walked away, frustratedly wiping his damp eyes. He'd never been so disappointed in himself.

Harry spent Sunday trying to come up with some sort of apology that would suffice but also hoping Monday never came so he'd never actually have to apologise.

Fortunately and unfortunately Monday came quickly as did Harry last lesson, Potions. There was nothing Harry could do to put it off any longer. He took a deep breath, entered the room, sat down and waited for her long hair to bounce past him but it never did.

"Leave, Potter!" he heard Snape bellow. He blinked himself out of the trance he'd sunk into, looked around him and realised the lesson had finished. He hastily gathered his things and left before losing Gryffindor any more points than usual. His brows knit together as he realised he must have been sitting for quite a while as everyone was already back in their common rooms by this time.

Just as he was making his way to the Gryffidor common room he heard some voices around the corner. He didn't want to be around anyone so he decided to wait for them to leave. That when he heard a voice he recognised.

"Just leave me alone!" he heard in that oh so familiar voice before there was a thump. It was then he realised who he'd heard.

He bolted around the corner just in time to see two burly looking Slytherin girls turn the far corner and Luna sprawled on the floor. He ran to her side and knelt next to her, not really sure what to do. As he moved her hair away from her face he saw her porcelain skin was stained with blood. Before he knew it he was stroking his thumb across her cheek; he never pictured the first time he touched her to be anything like this.

After an unmeasurable moment Luna slowly fluttered her eyes open and she grimaced. Harry knew he needed to help her, regardless of what had happened between them so he helped her into up and took her into the girls' bathroom where he began cleaning up her face.

"Are you allowed in here?" Luna said, hopping up to sit on the edge of the sink.

"I'm not quite sure," Harry began. "I'm sure everyone's at dinner now anyway though."

All of a sudden her hand was rested on his cheek. "You look frustrated," she said.

"No," he replied thoughtfully. "I'm just concentrating..." he mumbled, his tongue protruding through his lips.

"On what?" she giggled in reply. At this Harry stopped cleaning her face.

"Your nose..." he said. "It's broken, Luna," he continued.

"Yeah, I know," she said with a smile. "You can fix it though."

"I can't, I have no idea how," Harry said raising his brows.

"It's a simple spell, Episkey."

"Excuse me?"

"That's the spell, Episkey." She giggled again, a musical kind of laugh that made Harry smile despite the situation.

"Oh, right, okay..." He raised his wand, about to perform the spell but dropped his wand to his side once more.

"What's wrong now?" said Luna, a smirk spreading across her small mouth.

"Are you sure you trust me to do this?" Harry said, running his hand through his hand through his ebony hair.

"Of course, Harry," was all Luna said.

"Okay, here goes," he replied unsurely. "Episkey!"

Luna squealed in pain and drew her hands up to her face before curling herself down into her own lap.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry! Did I get it wrong?" Harry said quickly.

He then heard a muffled "Nope!" and calmed slightly. Luna lifted her head slowly, still clutching at her face. When she took her hands away he saw that her nose was as it was before the bullies punched her, although she did still have a smear of blood under her nose. Harry reached towards her and wiped it away.

"There," he said. "Good as new." He smiled at her, then frowned, his scar creasing with his forehead. He felt so ashamed of himself, he'd been so nasty to this innocent, lovely girl who he knew couldn't help what she was doing to him. He looked at her confused but still beautiful face and blushed, he'd been such an idiot. Harry had faced many dangers in his still short life but this was too much for his hormone-fuelled brain to handle.

"I should probably get going," he began as casually as he could. He turned away but before he could walk to the door he felt her soft hands wrap around one of his.

"No, Harry," she pleaded. "Stay?"

And he did.


	7. Chapter 7

"Can we go somewhere a little more..." Harry began.

"Private?" asked Luna.

"Yep, please?" he replied.

"Okay, I know the perfect place." Luna smiled and jumped down from the sink she was still sitting on without letting go of his hand.

She led him through a maze of corridors until she found the spot she was looking for, she then turned towards the wall and closed her eyes. Harry looked at the wall, then to Luna and watched her as she opened her eyes again and smiled at the wall. Confused, he also looked at the wall and to his surprise there was a huge oak door that certainly wasn't there before. His eyes darted back to Luna who smiled even wider at him.

"What the...?!" he muttered.

"Come on, you!" she said tugging on his hand and giggling to herself.

Harry followed her through the door and touched the solid stone wall on his way into the room.

"What is this place?" he said, taking in the beautiful room as he walked in.

The room was huge, easily the size of four Gryffindor common rooms. There was a grand white marble fireplace on the side across from them, armchairs and beanbags were scattered around the room in all kinds of pretty pastel colours, there was silky, iridescent material draped around the ceiling and down the walls and there were an array of fluffy white rugs in all shapes and sizes.

"The room of requirement," Luna said simply. "If a person needs a room for something, they need only come here and the room accommodates them in every way. This is the room I always get, although there's never been a fireplace before, strange."

"It's beautiful," Harry whispered just as he realised that this was what Luna had asked the room for. He'd never been in such a tranquil place in his whole life.

The two sat down in two large armchairs conveniently placed across from each other in front of the fireplace.

After a few long moments in the room Luna still hadn't let go of Harry's hand, her grip was far from tight, quite light in fact, like a piece of satin against his rough, calloused skin. He found himself closing his eyes, for he hadn't felt this calm in as long as he could remember. In a fraction of a second Luna had swiftly lifted one of her hands off of Harry's and placed it on the side of his face, her thumb resting on his cheekbone. He instinctively leaned into her touch, his eyes still shut.

"Harry?" she said, quietly.

"Hmm?" was all he could say in reply as he opened his eyes.

"Will you let me explain now?" she asked, dropping her hand from his face. "Please?"

Harry turned scarlet and nodded.

"I'm very sorry for making you feel the way you do." Harry's face turned a darker shade of red.

"It's not your fault..." was all he could mutter.

"You're right," she said quickly. "It's not, but it's also not because I'm part Veela."

"I don't understand." said Harry, his face beginning to return to it's usual colour.

Luna then pulled out a small bottle and held it up for him to see. The bottle was very ornate and contained a pale blue liquid.

"Perfume?" said Harry, raising a brow in confusion.

"Nope, potion," Luna replied.

"Okay... What's it for?" Harry couldn't see where this was going but he decided to stick it out.

"It's a long story," Luna began. "I don't want to be this way, I saw what happened to my mother because she was a Veela, I couldn't bare the thought of my genetics getting in the way of things so I researched for months after my mother passed away, I looked in every book I could find but there weren't any answers."

Harry was now listening intently although he had an inkling of where it was going.

"That was until I went to Germany with my father," she continued. "I befriended a Veela girl there who was having the same struggles with herself, the only difference being she'd found an solution." She handed Harry the bottle. "And that's where this comes in."

"So this potion gets rid of your Veela side?" said Harry.

"Not permanently, you have to keep taking it, kind of like polyjuice potion."

"So this is like a wolfsbane potion but for Veela?"

"Pretty much," Luna finished, taking back the bottle and popping it into her pocket.

"So your Veela side has no effect at all... On anybody?" Harry said after a little while.

"Nope, I've been taking this potion since I started first year."

"Right..." he trailed off, there was so much to process. He had no idea how he felt about anything any more.

"It's okay though, Harry Potter," Luna said after a while, leaning towards him and pushing his glasses up his nose slightly. "Because I love you, too."

And suddenly her lips were touching his.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry's eyes dropped closed, as had Luna's. She'd only kissed him very gently but it had an unexpected warming effect on Harry, like he'd sunk into a soothing hot bath. Everything overwhelmed his senses, the feel of her soft skin on his lips, her aroma that smelled like a field of fresh flowers and the sound of her slow, deep breaths when they broke apart. His eyes couldn't open, he wanted to stay within that moment forever.

Eventually, when his eyes did flutter open she was there, blushing like he'd never seen anyone, certainly not her, blush before. Her hands were clasped together, resting on her lap and her eyes seemed to be focused on them. Harry himself was quite warm but it wasn't embarrassment, nor the fire that made him heat up so suddenly.

As he sat, looking towards the dancing fire, Harry thought about the night's events. He really did love her, there was no other way to explain how he felt. And she loved him. Nobody had ever said they loved him before, not to his face anyway. He smiled and leaned back quickly in his armchair; the noise the armchair made seemed to catch Luna's attention. She saw him smiling and grinned back, her blush seeming to fade slightly.

"Do you mind if I...?" she said, pointing at the small space beside him in his large armchair.

"No, not at all," he said, moving over to give her more room. She sat down, her small frame fitting perfectly in the chair with Harry. She placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, her breathing the only thing harry could hear. He shuffled himself and put his arm around her, his hand resting on her side. She placed her delicate hand on his chest and she sighed a happy sigh.

"So," Harry began. "Where did all that come from?"

"All what?" Luna said, playing with Harry's shirt button absent mindedly.

"Uh, the kiss and stuff...?" he said, scratching his head with his free hand.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long, I'm sorry if it was a little much." Harry could feel her face heat up on his chest, his thin shirt the only thing keeping their skin from touching.

"No, I loved it," he said to her hastily. "I wish it could've lasted forever," he continued before realizing what he'd said. He had a habit of being a little too open around Luna but he felt comfortable with her, as though he'd known her his whole life.

"Really? I thought I may have been a little bit too forward." She looked up at him as though to gauge his true reaction. The firelight on the side of her face and hair made her look like she was glowing with beautiful flaming embers herself. He placed a hand gently on her cheek just as she had done to him not long ago. Her skin, as he expected, was warm in the glow of the flames, she had a knack for catching the light just right. As he looked at her he felt his hand ruined the effect some and decided to move it, it didn't belong on such beautiful skin. Before he could move it too far however she'd taken it and placed it right back where it had just been on her cheek, closed her eyes and sighed once more, a small smile creeping across her dusty pink lips. This was the perfect opportunity.

Harry took a deep breath, leaned in closer and planted a small kiss on her plump mouth. He felt another small spark just like before but moved away swiftly. Luna then cupped her hand around Harry's neck and pulled him back into her, giving him a deeper, much more passionate kiss than before. Her lips moved slowly against his, her fingers dancing in his hair at the nape of his neck. Harry's free hand moved to the small of her back, pulling her body towards him and holding her close as their lips moved faster in sequence with each other. She moved quickly to a different position, right on top of Harry's lap, without pulling her lips from his. Both of her arms came around his neck and she sat with her legs either side of his, straddling him. Harry, adrenaline fueling him, began unbuttoning three of her shirt buttons though he had no intentions of undressing her. He placed his hand on the side of her neck and, still kissing her, moved his fingers over her shoulder and moved her shirt out of the way, exposing it to the warm light of the burning logs in the fireplace. She shivered under his touch and kissed even more lovingly. He then began to pull her shirt out from the back of her skirt but stopped, deciding against it, feeling it may push Luna too far. Then, as if to answer his thoughts she pulled the shirt out herself and then placed her arms back around his neck, her hands getting lost once more in his ebony hair. He placed his hands on her naked back, the temperature of which rose beneath his fingers.

He pulled away from her lips after an immeasurable amount of time, looked into her ocean-deep eyes and whispered "I love you, Luna, I love you so much."

She buried her head deep into the place where his neck met his shoulder and muttered "I know."


	9. Chapter 9

Harry awoke to a dull pain in his ribs. Groggily he began to feel around the area only to realise that Luna was still fast asleep there, her elbow resting on his chest. He debated leaving her there, she looked so peaceful but then she shifted slightly, making him whince. Her eyes blinked open at the sound and she looked around quickly to see Harry's grimacing face.

"Harry," she said, startled. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry," he began. "Your elbow, my ribs," he continued with a small groan.

Luna practically jumped off of him and began to massage his chest where her elbow had just been wedged. "Sorry..." she said sencerely.

"It's fine," he replied, smiling with relief.

"What time is it?" she asked, wiping her puffy eyes.

"I have no idea, we should probably get out of here."

"Agreed," Luna sighed. "I wish we could stay longer."

"Me too," he replied, placing his hand on her cheek. She yawned and rubbed her eyes once more, Harry had no idea anyone could be so adorable. He stood and held out his hand to her, she took hold of it and stood in front of him. She kissed his nose lightly and he grinned at her.

"Come on, you," she said to him before pulling him by the hand to the other side of the room and out the door. They strolled down the corridor in the glow of the stars coming through from the window. They had almost made it back to the entrance hall where they were to part ways to their dormitories when Harry thought he heard his name being called from up the grand staircase.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Luna.

"Your name being called in the distance?" she asked dramatically. He nodded. "Yup," she finished casually.

"Hello?" called Harry to the disembodied voice who'd called his name once again. It sounded like it was getting closer.

Ron's head popped over the rail of the staircase. "Harry? What you doing down there?" he said making his way down the stiarcase followed by Hermione and, to Harry's horror, Professor McGonagall.

"Mr Potter! Where have you been?" Professor McGonagall asked him, half worried, half furious.

"Erm..." Harry had no excuse to wiggle his way out of this one. He was waiting to be told off and punished in the worst way possible, probably detention, he thought. But before McGonagall had a chance to even say another word Hermione had pushed past both her and Ron and stormed towards Harry with a face full of pure rage.

"Where have you been?! What were you THINKING?!" she screamed, tears soaking her pasty face.

"I was just..." he began.

"We were worried sick!" she said, wiping her sopping wet face on the sleeve of her nightdress.

Harry looked over all of them: Ron, drained of all colour except from green, clutching the marauders map, McGonagall, red and blotchy, no doubt because she'd been running around the castle trying to find him, and Hermione, more upset than he'd ever seen her before. They must have thought he was in danger, that maybe he'd been taken or he'd run off. His face dropped and turned the same colour as Ron's.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't realise what time it was," was all he could think to say. Then a thought popped into his head. "Has anyone been looking for Luna, too?" he said.

"Luna?" said Hermione, not understanding at first before she realised Luna was on Harry's left, yawning. She looked back to Harry, brows raised in surprise.

"Miss Lovegood!" exclaimed McGonagall. Obviously nobody had realised she was missing too.

Luna finished her yawn before muttering a casual "Hmm?" At this McGonagall's eyes widened, Luna smiled back at her. McGonagall shook her head and turned back to Harry.

"You need to get back to your dormitory," she began. "Now." she finished sternly.

"Yeah, come on mate," Ron said queitly, tugging on Harry's sleeve. He pulled his shirt out of Ron's grasp, turned to Luna with his back to the others and smiled.

"I'll see you-" he tapped her on the nose. "At breakfast." She smiled at him and threw her arms around his waist, he hugged her tight and kissed her on the top of the head before letting go and turning back to Ron, Hermione and Professor McGonagall.

"Well," began McGonagall, very flustered indeed. "I think Miss Granger's outburst is punishment enough this time, along with the deduction of 50 points from Gryffindor, of course."

Harry nodded. "I understand," he said, feeling like he was getting off quite lightly with this. He turned back to look at Luna but she'd dissapeared, no doubt going off to get back to her dormitory before she got the same punishment.

And with that, Harry walked with Ron and Hermione back to the Gryffindor common room.

Once they got back to the common room Hermione turned to Harry. She gave him a look of rage before her face softened and she threw her arms around him, hugging him so tightly he thought he might pass out. He rubbed his arm when she finally let go.

"You deserved that," she said with a devious smile creeping across her face.

"So..." Ron began, pushing Hermione lightly out of the way. Harry rubbed his forehead and couldn't help but smile, he sat in the armchair nearest the fireplace. Hermione and Ron sat in the other ones across from him and started at him expectantly.

"So, what?" asked Harry, although he knew quite well what.

"Where are have been?" Hermione inquired, in a less accusatory way this time. She had her legs crossed in the huge chair and her chin rested on her hand. Ron sat on the edge of his seat.

"Well, I can't really say, I don't really know where it was we were..." Harry replied vagueley.

"You were in the room of requirement!" Hermione practically shouted before being hushed by the boys. "That's why we couldn't see you on the map until you came out of the room!" she said in an a quieter but equally excited manner.

"How do you know about that?" he shot back at her. Ron's head was moving back and forth between them at this point as he fought to keep up with the coversation.

"I found it by accident one day when I was looking for a quiet place to study," she admitted.

"Oh..." Harry said thoughtfully.

"What are you two going on about?" muttered Ron, his freckled face screwed up in confusion.

Hermione looked around very dramatically before explaining: "So the room of requirement is a secret room in Hogwarts, the door to which appears when a person is in need of a certain room, the room will hold everything one requires, hence the room of requirement."

"Right," Ron began. "So what did you require then, Harry?" he said, rounding on harry with a devilish smile. At this Harry's cheeks began to flush and Ron roared with laughter and Hermione giggled.

"Nothing like that!" Harry exclaimed, only a small white lie, he thought. "Some girls were bullying Luna, she ended up getting hurt and she..."

"She what?" Hermione pushed after a long paused.

"Well, after I helped her clean up the blood-" at this, Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth. "-she's fine, Hermione! Anyway, after that she wanted to explain about everything that had been going on and she wanted to go somehwere we could talk..."

After another long moment Hermione obviously wasn't satisfied with his answer. "And then?" she pressed.

"And then..." he started. On seeing the curious looks from his two best friends he decided to tell them the truth. "And then she kissed me."

"What?!" the two across from him exclaimed. perfectly in time with eachother before looking at eachother with mirrored expressions; raised brows and open mouths.

"And then we fell asleep." finished Harry, very anticlimactically.

"That's adorable, how sweet?!" Hermione said, clapping her hands together and smiling.

"Come on, Harry! That can't be all!" Ron huffed, dissapointed. Hermione's face turned slightly angry, she hit Ron on the arm lightly, gave him a scathing look and then returned to looking completely enchanted by Harry's story.

Harry looked out of the window and saw it wasn't quite dawn yet. "Now," he said. "I'm off to bed for a few more hours' sleep,"

And with that, Harry left them to their thoughts.


End file.
